All I Want for Christmas
by Card1na15
Summary: One year after Clark and Lana have their 'first of many' Christmases as a couple, they are split up, with Clark by himself and Lana with Lex. Both have wishes this Christmas morning. See what happens as both decide that all they want for Christmas is...
1. Chapter 1

All I Want for Christmas…

1. Clark

Christmas morning dawned cold, crisp, and lifeless. Clark was already performing his chores since farm work knew no holidays. There were cattle to be fed, cows to be milked, and as always, a fence that needed mending.

The perfect solitude of early morning gave Clark time to be alone with his thoughts, something he hadn't had much of lately since his mother had come back to Smallville after the end of the fall session of the Kansas State Senate. With Martha had come her ever-present shadows, Lois and Lionel. Lionel, thankfully, was staying in the Luthor Mansion, and Lois was staying in the Talon apartment with Chloe, but they were both here at the farm more often than not during waking hours.

_It's a measure of how far we've fallen in the space of a year,_ Clark thought. _From the light and warmth of Dad and Lana to the self-centeredness of the Wonder Twins._

Christmas had always been Clark's favorite holiday, but last year's had been the all-time best. From time spent delivering presents to deserving families to family time here in a warm and welcoming house, Clark had loved every minute. It had felt like the first of many such Christmases…instead, it had been the last.

He had lost Lana and his dad on the same day, the blackest day of his life. Sure, the actual breakup with her had come later, but election day was when he had realized she could never be his. It was the day his heart had begun to die.

Even taking his time, Clark was done with chores and headed back to the house with the morning Daily Planet in hand by the time his mother made it to the kitchen to make a hurried breakfast for two before continuing her extensive preparations for Christmas dinner. He had worked up a mighty appetite and was looking forward to three Western omelets. He could already taste the bits of smoked ham, crisp bell pepper, and spicy red onion surrounded by fluffy scrambled eggs and smothered with melted mozzarella cheese.

Though he was dreaming about omelets, the first smell he noticed was a brew of rich Hawaiian Kona coffee. One of the side benefits of Martha's time running the Talon, as far as Clark was concerned anyway, was that she had developed a taste for great coffee, and now, plain, old Colombian coffee would no longer suffice.

When Clark tried to pour himself a cup of coffee and sit at the kitchen table to read just like his dad used to, Martha shooed him away, insisting he wash up before taking a seat at her table. Clark groaned but grinned as he allowed his mother to herd him toward the bathroom, just like she used to do to his dad.

Once breakfast was over and he had cleared the table and washed the dishes, Clark knew his further presence in the kitchen would be nothing more than a hindrance, so he looked for something to do, something that would get him out of the house before either Lois or Lionel arrived.

Swinging by the Talon was out of the question. Clark was already trying to avoid Lois and even seeing Chloe held no interest for him today. She would undoubtedly try to cheer him up before she went off to have Christmas dinner with Jimmy's family in Metropolis. _She's another person I seem to have lost this year. Last year we were inseparable buddies, now we spend less and less time together._

_Speaking of friends I've lost, _Clark thought, _I wonder what Pete's doing this Christmas. His dad says he's engaged to a girl he met senior year in Wichita. I know he comes to visit his dad regularly, but I haven't seen him since our tearful goodbye. I don't blame Pete for our separation, once again, I blame me. He just did what he had to._

Clark shrugged on his tan barn coat and headed outside. "I'm going to go for a walk," Clark said, being sure to make himself heard by his mother.

Martha waved an absentminded goodbye as she was concentrating on the Smithfield ham that was about to go into the oven.

Clark ambled down the hard-packed drive and down Hickory Lane past fields that were covered with a thin skin of snow and ice, the last remnants of a storm a week earlier. He was buried in his thoughts when he realized he had come to a stop. Looking up and seeing he had come to a stop in front of Lana's old home, he couldn't help but smile, even as thoughts of her twisted his guts anew.

From years of careful study with his old telescope, Clark knew the front of that house better than he did the front of his house. The sky blue paint was peeling in places, and the whole house had taken on an air of disrepair._ Another thing from my past that is falling to dust…great!_

Soon, he was into town, hands tucked into his coat pockets, and once again he found himself standing still, this time, in front of the Talon. He was relieved to see, from the cars that weren't there, that Chloe and Lois were both gone. The Talon was closed for the holiday, as were all of the shops on Main Street, allowing Clark to contemplate his past in solitude.

_Lana asked me recently if I ever wished I could go back and do something over, _Clark thought. _How ironic, since that's what got us into this mess in the first place. When I had the chance to change the past, I made a mistake. Until now, I thought the mistake I'd most like to change was not telling Lana about me, and about Lex, the second time around. _

_But now, I'm thinking bigger. I believe that given the chance, I'd go back to freshman year, right here at the Talon, and keep Lana from ever becoming business partners with Lex. Sure, she would've lost the place where her parents met, but she never would've fallen into Lex's orbit. She only would've known him through me. That should've kept her safe enough._

Clark had to get away from the Talon and its many Lana-related memories. He wanted to go somewhere quiet and isolated, somewhere he could be alone with his thoughts, somewhere no one else would find him.

_I hear old man Chandler finally rebuilt his windmill, _Clark thought,_ if he kept the platform on top, that should do just fine._


	2. Chapter 2

2. Lana

Lana was up early, as was her habit on Christmas. As she slid out of bed, she looked down at her abdomen and patted it lightly. _My first Christmas with you, whoever you are, _she thought. Racing downstairs to see what Santa had brought her had never been her style since it had always been just her and Nell. With Nell, exchanging gifts had been a quiet affair, broken only by occasional squeals of delight from Lana at a particularly welcome gift. Nell had always dutifully oohed and ahhed over whatever Lana got for her, but the gift portion of Christmas was always over quickly.

As Lana pulled on a robe and her favorite slippers to head downstairs and get some piping hot breakfast pastries and ice cold milk, she thought how her 'tradition' of plastic, store-bought holidays had been brought to a screeching halt last year. Last year, with _him, _had been a Norman Rockwell kind of Christmas, the kind she had dreamed about since she was old enough to know the difference.

The Kent house had been filled with friends, and most importantly, with love. As she made her way past the library, she peeked inside and didn't like what she saw: an admittedly beautiful pine tree…that had taken Lex's staff half a day to decorate to his specifications; a pile of presents…all wrapped in coordinated paper by the clerks at Neiman-Marcus or some other high-end store; and no stockings hung by the chimney with care.

Privately, Lana wondered if Lex even knew what was in half of the packages, and the sheer number of presents was ridiculous considering that only two people would be opening them. _Still,_ Lana thought, _this is the life I'll have if I accept Lex's proposal._

Once in the kitchen, Lana was halfway through a blueberry scone and her first glass of milk when a member of the household staff handed her a note. It said:

Lana,

I was called away on urgent business and won't be back until tomorrow. I know the timing is terrible, but it couldn't be helped. Being the C.E.O. comes with responsibilities.

I promise to make it up to you tomorrow.

Lex

_Oh, that's just rich, _Lana thought bitterly. _He's going to spend what should be our first Christmas together, at Luthor Corp, leaving me all alone. Apparently I'm not that important to Lex, and yet he **claims** he loves me and wants me to marry him. _

_But the baby, how will I raise the baby without a daddy? And if I **did** leave Lex, I know he would fight me for custody, especially if the child is a boy._

Lana was so upset, that it took her a full minute to realize the note wasn't even in Lex's own handwriting. When she did_,_ she began to seethe. _So much for the personal touch! But what more should I expect from a guy whose Christmas shopping is done by his personal assistant?_

Deciding that keeping her feelings inside could be bad for her baby, Lana raced back upstairs and into some warm clothes before grabbing her purse and heading out into the fresh morning air. She wanted to get away from the mansion to a place where she could freely vent her frustration, a place she could scream and jump up and down without anyone seeing her. She knew if anyone saw her, there was a good likelihood the story would get back to Lex and she knew what he'd think of that.

Lana knew just the place. The Chandler windmill, which had been destroyed when Evan died, had finally been replaced. She had gone by to take a look after they had completed it because the old windmill had been important to her. _It used to symbolize the outside world that had been waiting for me to leave Smallville behind…and then __**he**__ took me up there, as if to say my dreams can come true. That wasn't the first time I had felt something for…for __**Clark**__, but it had been another important step on our road together._ _In any case, Christmas morning should be a perfectly safe time to be out there by myself._


	3. Chapter 3

3. Clana?

Clark walked along the side of the rutted dirt track that led to the windmill in the middle of the field. He was glad he hadn't driven out here in his truck. Since the dirt track only led to the windmill, it hadn't been driven on in days, much less cleared of snow and ice and traction appeared to be iffy at best.

Standing at the base of the windmill, Clark used his heat vision to melt the remaining snow and ice off of the ladder before beginning to climb. Once on top he melted the frozen precipitation that remained up there and then looked out toward Metropolis. He remembered the day he had conquered his fear of heights just so Lana could have her wish. He'd always been willing to do anything for Lana…finally tell her the truth to keep her, change the past and lie to save her. All he knew was, he'd do _anything_ to have a chance to save her one last time, this time from Lex.

Clark looked up into the sky and said, "I know there are presents waiting for me at home, along with family and friends, though I _still_ don't know how Lionel Luthor managed to sneak in there, but all I want for Christmas is one chance to make things right with Lana. I admit it, my way was wrong. I surrender. I've messed up with Lana too many times to count, but I swear on the grave of my father that if I get this one last shot, I won't waste it."

With as many wrecks as she had been in, Lana tended to be a cautious driver. Today was no exception. She was happy to discover the roads, even the narrow-shouldered two-lane county roads, had been cleared. Feeling a bit more confident, Lana headed down the road that led to Chandler's field. Once there, the road turned into a dirt track and Lana continued on. She was able to handle the right hand turn just before the windmill, but as she drew close to the windmill itself on the icy dirt track, she found herself unable to stop. She was headed right for the windmill at thirty miles an hour.

Clark had looked up when he saw the car enter the field. He was curious, but figured it was just a Christmas visitor who had gotten lost and needed to get turned around. After all, who'd come to a windmill on Christmas morning? As the car came closer without slowing down, Clark became alarmed and rushed into action. He blurred down the ladder and brought the out of control car to a halt mere inches away from the first support leg of the windmill.

There was a brief moment when he could see the driver, but she couldn't see him since her head had snapped forward and down due to the suddenness of the stop. Clark knew instantly it was Lana. In that moment, he had a choice: disappear and allow her to believe whatever she wanted, or stay and start becoming the man he was meant to be.

Clark chose to stay.

Lana was in shock. She had been sure she was going to hit the windmill, and then the car just _stopped_ like it had hit an invisible wall. She shook her head and began to look up and received another shock, one that was bigger than being stopped and yet, one that was almost expected. She hadn't hit an 'invisible wall,' she had been stopped by a very visible Clark Kent.

Once Clark knew Lana had seen him, as evidenced by her wide eyes and the hand that flew up to cover her mouth in shock, he moved purposefully to her door, silently thanking whoever it was that had granted his wish.

"Hi, Lana," Clark said through the closed door. "Imagine seeing you out here today."

"Uh, yeah, imagine that," she said distractedly.

Clark waited for Lana to unlock her door, then he opened it and held it for her as she climbed out. First off, Lana went to the front of her car to look, only to see the car hadn't been so much as scratched by her latest driving adventure.

Turning back to Clark, and half expecting him to be gone, Lana asked, "Uh, Clark? It's not that I'm not grateful or anything, but…um, how?"

"I…I can do things."

"_Things? _Such as…?"

Clark held open his arms and asked, "Do you trust me?"

Lana thought that question coming from Clark _should_ have elicited a laugh. Instead, she felt that something was different today. There was no deceit in either Clark's eyes or his voice. She had always trusted him with her life. Today she felt it would be just as safe to trust him in other ways as well.

Lana stepped into Clark's encircling arms and said, "Yes, I do."

"Then wrap your arms around me and hold on tight, Lana," Clark said as he scooped Lana up into the air. "These _things_ are easier to show than to explain."

Once she had settled in, Clark asked, "Ready?"

Lana nodded once, wondering what she had gotten herself into, when suddenly there was a great rush of wind, and they were _inside _somewhere. It took Lana a second or two to regain her bearings and realize they were in Clark's loft. Clark set her down and said, "I'll be back in a sec," and disappeared.

_I've always suspected Clark had great speed, _Lana thought, _ever since he saved me from Adam. But this is ridiculous._

Clark returned in moments holding a pitcher of cold water, two empty mugs, and a canister of hot chocolate mix.

"What's that for, Clark?"

"Something to help keep you warm while I tell you…everything."

Lana touched the water pitcher and said, "But Clark, the water in there is almost ice cold."

Clark pulled the pitcher out of her reach and stared at it for a few seconds, bringing the water in the pitcher to a rolling boil. "That's what you think," he said, as he carefully measured a serving of powdered mix into each mug and then poured in the water.

Lana was looking to see if Clark had brought spoons to stir the hot chocolate with when he stuck a finger into his and stirred it like nothing could be more natural than to place a finger into boiling water. She was horrified and made a move to yank his hand out of the water before he did some serious damage.

Clark pulled his mug out of her reach and said, while pretending he had no idea what was making her worried, "What? I washed my hands while I was inside, so they're clean. Honest!"

When Lana saw the heat wasn't affecting Clark in the slightest, she punched him on the shoulder for making her worry like that. Clark rubbed his shoulder as if in pain, and said, "What is it with women hitting me on the shoulder all of the time?"

"Oh, there is no way that hurt you, Clark," Lana said. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Clark gave up the pretense of being in pain and said, "That's just another _thing _I needed to show you. I'm basically invulnerable to physical damage of any kind."

Looking hurt, Lana asked, "Why did you…?"

Clark waved her to silence and replied, "The whys come later, Lana. There aren't really any good reasons why, but I'll tell you all of them anyway. Right now, I have a few more _things_ to show you."

Seeing Clark's yummy-looking hot chocolate, Lana held up her mug hopefully, and said, "Okay, now do me."

Realizing how what she had just said could be taken, Lana's face flushed Christmas red. Clark had caught the curious wording of her request. His expression, for just a moment, said 'Been there, done that, can't _wait_ to go back and do it again.'

Lana saw that moment of unguarded lust and said, "Oh my God! You…you still want me! You still _love_ me!"

Clark couldn't talk, he wasn't even sure he could breathe, all he could do is nod his head 'yes' to complete the surrender begun on top of Chandler's windmill.


	4. Chapter 4

4. Clana!

After stirring Lana's chocolate with a finger, and taking plenty of time while doing it so he'd have time to think, Clark said, "I never stopped loving you, or wanting you for that matter."

"You lied to me?" Lana already knew the answer, but it was a question she felt forced to ask.

"Yeah, I lied when I told you I didn't love you anymore. I lied every time I had to use my abilities to save you. I can't even count the lies I've had to tell over the years to protect my secrets from people…or in your case, to protect you from my secrets."

Upset and more than a little bit angry, Lana asked, "Didn't you _trust_ me?"

"Trust was never an issue, Lana. For the first three years in high school, I dreamed about telling you, but I was petrified you wouldn't like me any more. When you told me you were leaving for France, I figured I was going to lose you if I _didn't_ tell you, so I invited you over for dinner up here in the loft so I could tell you everything."

"I remember that day," Lana said dryly. "I had gotten my hopes up only to be let down once again. What happened to change your mind?"

"Pete."

Lana got a dangerous look in her eyes that made Clark back up a step and raise his hands, palms outward, as if to ward off an attack.

"You can't possibly mean to tell me that I've waited all these years for you to open up to me, but that _Pete _got to know everything. Do you?"

Lana waited impatiently, hands on hips, wondering how Clark would try to spin his way out of this one.

"Well, Pete kind of discovered something about me that I wasn't able to lie my way out of…at least, not without losing his friendship."

That had the ring of truth for Lana, so she asked, "What did Pete learn?"

"He saw…" _Dang, how do I explain this? _"Pete saw something I can't possibly explain, until I tell you about my parents."

Lana pointed in the general direction of the house and asked, "The Kents?"

"Nope. My biological parents, the Els."

Perplexed, Lana asked, "The _who?"_

"Nah, the Els. The Who was an English rock band." Clark held a straight face for as long as he could and then broke into an ear-to-ear grin. As Lana rolled her eyes, Clark made a snap decision. "Come on, Lana. You're already dressed warmly enough, so once I go get my key, I have something else to show you."

Lana finished off her hot chocolate before hopping up into Clark's welcoming embrace for another quick trip. Before she could take a second breath, they were standing in what she recognized as the Kawatche caves. Clark led her back to a part of the cave she didn't remember ever seeing before. It was like a small room and the only thing in it was a large octagonal table.

Lana's eyes grew wide at the sight of it and she immediately recognized some of the runes as being the same as the ones out on the cave walls. "I don't remember this room ever being here. How did you find it?"

"It was left for me."

Lana turned back to Clark and said, completely deadpan, "For you."

Clark stepped to her side and said, "What I'm about to show you may change the way you feel about me."

Lana tried to soothe Clark's somewhat ragged emotions by saying, "Whatever it is, Clark, it will be okay."

Taking her at her word, and secretly marveling at how much this time was like the first time, Clark stuck his octagonal key into a vertical slot on the table. A golden radiance then shot up, along with a wind that started flapping Lana's hair all over the place.

Lana looked around in wonder as Clark snagged his key and said, "One more time today, I need to ask you. Do you trust me?"

Lana needed no time for thought this time, she just stepped close and took Clark's outstretched hand. Clark moved in close and wrapped his other arm around her in a protective gesture that wasn't lost on Lana. Then, the two of them were catapulted along a coruscating tube of bluish-white energy.

_Just like last time, _Clark thought, _Lana's looking back and forth like a farm kid on her first trip to the city while my eyes are locked on her. Of course, who can blame her? She's seeing something she never thought to see in her wildest dreams…and no one can blame me for where I'm looking either, because she's_ _**my** wildest dream._

Clark's feeling of déjà vu lasted right until Lana took her first step in the Fortress of Solitude. Clark had let her go and was considering how to tell her about Krypton when she collapsed and fell to the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

5. Remembering

Even though he was surprised by Lana's collapse, Clark was still fast enough to catch her before her head slammed into the hard flooring of the Fortress. He cradled her in his arms and called out sweet nothings to her while he waited for her to come around. Just when he was about to return to Smallville to take her to the hospital, Jor-El said, "There is no need to leave, my son. Your friend is merely absorbing what you would refer to as 'a download.' She will be fine in moments."

Clark knew enough of Kryptonian downloads to be leery of Jor-El at this point. He held Lana just a little bit closer, just a little bit more protectively, and asked, "What kind of 'download?'"

"Your friend was the only human to enter the Fortress during the time frame affected by the time alteration. Her memories were recorded as a matter of course. Now that she has returned, some of the memories she lost in the time alteration are being returned to her."

"How many memories?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Clark looked down to see Lana peering out through slitted eyes. It looked to him like she was suffering from a migraine headache, but before he could ask about how she felt, Lana said, "Clark? Please, just tell me one thing."

Glad to have her back, Clark was more than happy to oblige. "Anything, Lana. You name it."

Gripping onto Clark's forearm with desperate strength, Lana was very intent as she asked, "Did I say yes?"

Clark was unsure what she was referring to, so he exercised some caution and asked, "Say yes to what?"

"To your beautiful proposal. Lex could learn a thing or two from you when it comes to romance. A crystal palace beats a roomful of roses any day."

Clark looked like he'd just been gut-punched with a fistful of Kryptonite. "What?_ How? _How do you remember anything? Wait a minute, Lex _proposed? _What did _you_ say?" he asked.

"Answer my question, Clark. Did…I…say…yes?"

Clark couldn't help but smile blissfully as he remembered the moment she stood on the walkway at his house and said 'yes.' He was choked up with powerful emotions and, for the second time today, he couldn't talk. He could only nod his head in answer…_yes._

Lana's body just melted into Clark's chest at this point. Clark ventured a light kiss on her forehead, and she mumbled, "No fair! I wanna kiss you too."

_That can be arranged, _Clark thought. He quickly swung Lana down so she could stand. Once she regained her balance, he was more than happy to fulfill her wish. Lana might have looked and sounded tired, but her kiss was anything but.

After breaking the passionate liplock, Lana said quietly, "Now as far as your questions go, last questions first. Yes, Lex proposed and, no, I haven't answered him yet. He keeps wanting to know my answer, and I keep putting him off.

"As for your _first _question, I remember everything from the…the _first?_…time I came up to the loft on election day until we left this amazing palace of yours to go back to Smallville. That doesn't make any sense though, because now I have two sets of memories for part of that day and the only way that could happen is if part of that day…happened…twice." Lana's hand shot to her mouth. "Oh my God! That's _exactly_ what happened, isn't it?

Lana looked up at Clark and said, "Now it's my turn to ask why. I assume it was you somehow, but what I want to know is why you turned back time. We had had the best day. You finally let me in. You told me about your origin, told me about your abilities, and then you proposed. Then, though I remember leaving here with some doubts and fears, I said yes."

Tears were now in Lana's eyes as she asked, "What made you change your mind? Wasn't I enough for you? Did I displease you in some way?" Lana's feelings of inadequacy had come roaring back.

"Oh God no, Lana," Clark said. "That was the happiest day of my life…right up until the moment Lex chased your SUV into the path of an oncoming school bus. It only took me seconds to reach the crash site, but you were already dead. My dad had to pull me away from your broken body because I was hysterical. I swear if Lex had said one word to me right then, I would have killed him with my bare hands."

Lana had been the one ready to cry when she asked her question, but now Clark was the one bawling. "I lost the love of my life that night. I came back here and begged, pleaded, and even self-righteously _demanded_ the chance to go back in time and fix everything. I was willing to give up the _world_ to see you safe again. So when Jor-El reluctantly agreed to help me, I went back to our morning meeting in the loft and the rest, as they say, is history."

"You let me think what I've been thinking about you, for nearly the past year, just so I would live?"

Clark nodded, uncertain of Lana's reaction, and she shook her head in wonderment.

"I swear, I don't know whether to try to beat you to a pulp or bury you with kisses right now, Clark." Lana eyed his rock-hard body. "The first option seems like a waste of time and you look waaaaay too eager for the second option. You should've just _told_ me about Lex, I could have stayed away from him you know."

"I don't know about that," Clark said. "You've always been incredibly loyal to your friends and loved ones. You give more second chances than any person could possibly deserve, I'm living proof of that." Clark smiled in response to Lana's sudden grin. "Besides, I wouldn't have wanted to risk the chance that Lex would hurt you someday. You see, he was chasing you that night because he figured out I had told you my secrets. As soon as he learned we were engaged, Lex would have come after you."

The two of them stood facing each other, neither one sure of what to say next. Clark finally broke the ice when he said, "You know, Lana, it is possible to hurt me with physical blows."

Curious, Lana asked, "Really? How?"

Clark jerked his head toward the portal home and said, "Come on, I'll show you."

In no time at all, they were back at the Kent farm. It was three in the afternoon, only an hour to go before Martha's scheduled dinner start time. Clark jogged into the house and asked Martha privately if he could borrow the emergency piece of green-K she kept in a lead-lined box in her closet.

She gave her permission, but was somewhat worried until she caught a glimpse of a petite brunette just before she disappeared into the barn with Clark. Then, her worry turned to curiosity as she speculated what Clark was doing with Lana Lang and a piece of green-K. Once back in the loft, Clark stood several feet away from Lana after handing her the box.

"Okay, Lana, when I say 'go,' open the box, grab the meteor rock inside, and begin walking toward me. Pay close attention to how I react, but, no matter how I react, don't stop until you touch the rock to my skin." Lana looked at Clark dubiously. "Okay…go!"

Lana did as she was instructed and opened the box. As soon as she pulled the meteor rock free from the shielding of the lead lining, she felt a pain, closely akin to cramping, that appeared to be centered in her lower abdomen. The pain built as she took her first step, and she cried out in agony and collapsed before completing her second step.


	6. Chapter 6

6. Who's Your Daddy?

Clark didn't know what was going on, but he knew from experience he had to get the green-K away from Lana…._right now. _Everything had fallen from her hands when she collapsed, so he moved in close enough to grab the lead-lined box. He felt the beginning of green-K sickness, but before it could do anything more than make him feel uncomfortable, he turned the box upside down over the top of the green-K to shield Lana from it's effects. Then he slid the box against the far wall to get the green-K as far away from her as possible. Lana was already pushing herself into a sitting position by the time Clark got back to her.

Lightly rubbing her mid-section, Lana looked up at Clark and asked, "Was that _supposed _to happen?"

"No…well, at least not to you. _I _was supposed to be the one cramping on the floor." Clark knelt and scooped Lana into his arms. "Come on, let's get you back on your feet."

Clark knew Lana should be okay now that the green-K was secured, but he couldn't figure out why she had reacted to it like that. When he set her on her feet again, she was clutching her abdomen with both arms and he could see tears leaking out of her eyes. He gave up trying to figure out the cause of Lana's reaction as he wrapped her in his arms and focused on reassuring her. Once again, Lana felt the indescribable comfort and security she had always felt when wrapped in Clark's arms and her tears quickly subsided. But not all of her fears.

"Clark?" Lana asked with a shaky voice. "There's something I need to tell you about. It's a secret of mine you aren't going to like to hear."

Clark couldn't imagine Lana having any deep, dark secrets, but her expression was deadly serious, so he treated her and her secrets with the utmost respect. "Okay. This sounds serious. How 'bout we get you situated on the old couch over here?"

"Sure," Lana said, "but only if you sit next to me."

"I think I can convince myself to make that _horrific _sacrifice," Clark replied. His smile was warm, confident, and loving, making Lana feel like complete crap for what she was about to tell him.

Lana didn't start until they were both seated and Clark had interlaced his thick farmer's fingers with her delicate ones. She had always wondered how someone who does as much manual labor as Clark does, could have such soft and gentle hands, but now she knew.

Finally, she said, "There's no easy way to say this, and I'm fully aware of just how much this will hurt you, but…I'm pregnant."

Clark had prepared himself for a lot of things, but a pregnancy was not one of them. His face went from warm and loving to momentarily confused and then completely blank. "Since it's been well over a year since _we_ were intimate that way, I can only assume that means the child is Lex's. Correct?"

Lana had tried to keep her eyes on Clark's, and until now, she had been successful. But she couldn't keep looking into those jade green eyes. She was too afraid of the pain she knew she'd see there, so she looked down at her toes and pushed on to finish her story. "Correct. When you broke up with me, Lex made me feel wanted, cared for, and most of all, _trusted. _I tried to convince myself I was over you, even to the point of having sex with Lex. I can't call it 'making love,' because it wasn't. But now I'm pregnant with his child and I'm really scared, because the meteor rock didn't affect me so much as it seemed to affect my baby."

Had Lana been looking at Clark's face during her explanation, she would have noticed it undergoing a wide array of emotions. First was anguish at knowing he had driven her into Lex's arms, then came disgust when she admitted to sleeping with him. The disgust was quickly replaced by tenderness as he learned Lana was going to be a mom, and finally, confused joy as she told him that the baby had been affected by the green-K. Clark didn't know how it was possible, but the only explanation he could conceive of was that the baby had to be biologically his.

_Even when Zod was inside of Lex, _Clark thought, _the body was still Lex's and so was the biology. So there was no way he could have given her a baby that reacts to green-K._

Lana began to wonder what Clark was thinking when he didn't respond. When she finally looked up at him, she was surprised to see a manic grin plastered all over his face. That _wasn't_ the reaction she had been expecting, and it threw her off balance enough to prompt her to ask, "You're _happy_ that I'm carrying a little Luthor inside of me?"

Clark was barely able to contain his excitement, as he blurted out, "Lana, I'm happy all right, though delirious might be a more accurate way of saying it, because you, my love, are carrying a little _Kent_ inside of you."

Lana gave Clark a look that plainly questioned his sanity before she said, "Umm, Clark? As you pointed out earlier, it's been almost fifteen months since we last made love. I don't know about you, but what _I_ remember from biology class in high school is that the gestation period for humans is normally forty weeks, not sixty-five. Last time I checked, I'm human."

"Yeah," he said, excitedly, "but I'm not." Clark looked quickly around the loft to make sure no one had wandered out there where they could overhear anything. "Who knows what the gestation period is for a human-Kryptonian match? I sure don't."

Lana hated to shoot down his hopes, because they were every bit as attractive to her as they were to him, but someone had to be a realist, and today, that was her job. "Clark? As much as I hate to say it, my baby _can't_ be yours since I didn't quit having my 'time of the month' until after Lex and I had sex, which was only a couple of months ago."

Lana was amazed to see that her reasoning had absolutely no effect on Clark's grin. He waved her off like she didn't know what she was talking about and headed back over to the lead box,. He used the box lid to hold the offending piece of green-K in place inside the box bottom as he picked it up. After moving as far from Lana as he could manage while remaining inside the loft, Clark looked at Lana and said, "I _know_ I fathered your baby and the proof is in here."

Clark lifted the lid and winced at the proximity of the green-K. Gasping to get his words out as he held the stone close to himself, Clark said, "No one…but a blood Kryptonian…can react…to meteor rocks…this way." Clark touched the bare stone to his forearm and Lana could see an ugly network of green lines shoot across his skin as his arm began to cramp and his face contorted in agony.

Lana was afraid to step any closer to him because of the baby, but she had no hesitation about screaming at him, as she said, "You stupid farm boy, get that rock back in the box where it belongs, right this instant!"

Clark complied with her 'request' and when he felt better, he said in a quiet and determined voice. "That child is _ours,_ Lana. I _dare_ you to say otherwise. You've never reacted to green-K like that before. Heck, you wore a necklace made of the dang stuff for years." Now almost pleading with her, Clark said, "That wasn't you reacting to the meteor rock. It was the baby. It was _our_ baby."

Lana didn't know what to think. As impossible as it had seemed a few minutes ago, she was now seriously considering that she might be carrying Clark's baby instead of Lex's. All she could say was, "How?"

"I don't know," Clark admitted, "but I intend to find out as soon as…"

"Clark Kent!" Martha said, "Christmas dinner is ready."

Clark could tell from listening that his mom had judiciously stopped just inside the barn door to call him to supper. He super-sped down the stairs to stand right in front of her as Lana leaned over the railing.

Clark said, "Okay, Mom, I'll be in in a minute, but only if you can manage to set one more place at the table." Clark pointed up toward Lana, who smiled and waved shyly at Martha.

"Hi, Mrs. Kent," Lana said. "I would be ever so grateful if you could make sure that extra spot was next to your son."

Martha had had an inkling of what was likely going on out here, but being faced with the evidence, especially while her head was craned up at Lana, was making her feel light-headed. "Oh," she said lightly, "I think I can manage one more. Especially if it's you, Lana dear."

As Martha retreated to the house, Clark said, "Looks like that trip to learn about 'how' is going to have to wait until after dinner." He paused. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you if you wanted to eat with us before I asked Mom to set another place."

"Clark, I can't imagine another place I'd rather spend Christmas than right here. I said last year that it would be the first of many Christmases together. Well, we do things the hard way, but here we are together at Christmas once again. Now we just have to manage to stay together the _rest_ of the year."

"So," Clark asked cautiously, "does that mean you're leaving Lex?"

"Duh!" Lana said, as she made her way down the winding loft steps. "What part of today's events led you to believe I might _possibly_ stay with him?"

"None really," Clark admitted as he shrugged his shoulders. "I just didn't want to take you for granted. I wanted _you_ to say what you are going to do."

Lana smiled as she stepped right in front of Clark. Her fingers found the individual grooves in his lateral obliques and then made their way up his chest until they clasped together behind his neck. Lana used her grip to pull Clark's head down into a sensuous kiss that left them both gasping for air.

"I choose you, Clark. All you ever had to do is trust me and let me in." Lana released Clark's neck and took his hand as they moved toward the house. "I'll tell Lex whenever he manages to come home and notices I'm gone."


	7. Chapter 7

7. Happily Ever After

Martha set another place at the table without telling any of her guests why. She wanted to see their reactions when her son, and what appeared to be his girlfriend, walked into the kitchen.

Lois came over long enough to ask, "You want me to go out to the barn and drag Clark in by his ear?"

"No thanks, Lois, Clark will be in shortly." Martha smiled indulgently. "He may be slow sometimes, but he won't miss Christmas dinner."

Lois indicated the new place setting and asked, "Does this mean Clark's found an actual _date_ for dinner?"

"I'd guess you could call her that."

"Good! I'd hate for Smallville to spend the holiday pining for Lana. It's not healthy."

Martha tried to hide a smile when she said, "Oh, I'm fairly sure I can guarantee he won't be doing _that. _Not with this girl around anyway."

Lois, Oliver, Lionel, and Martha were standing around with drinks in their hands, waiting for Clark and his mystery guest to come in so they could sit down and eat, when the kitchen door began to creak open.

Everyone was looking up, expecting to see Clark's face in the doorway. Instead, they had to adjust their focal point roughly one foot lower when someone else came in first with Clark right behind. The newly arrived couple was backlit by the late afternoon light, so no one could tell who was with Clark until they came farther into the room. Clark was in the process of taking Lana's coat when everyone finally realized who the mystery guest was.

Martha had positioned herself to see everyone's reactions, and she wasn't disappointed. Lois spit out her drink and said, "Sh!t." Oliver smiled while nudging Lois in the side for her lapse in manners. He was happy to see Clark happy and also pleased to see that this young woman appeared to be getting out from under Lex's thumb. Lionel just shook his head and smiled.

Clark looked up after hanging up Lana's coat and saw that everyone was staring at her, which appeared to be making her uncomfortable. He stepped to her side and said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Lana, I'd like for you to meet Oliver Queen. Oliver, I'd like nothing more than to formally introduce you to my girlfriend, Lana Lang."

Lois nearly spit her drink out again, and as Oliver closed in for a brief handshake, he said, "Hello, Miss Lang. We meet again. You are as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you. It's nice to see you again, Mr. Queen."

"Please, call me Oliver."

"Okay, Oliver, in that case you can call me Lana."

Lana wasn't sure about Oliver, having gotten mixed vibes off of him the two times she had met him before, but he obviously had Clark's seal of approval, so she was willing to keep an open mind.

Clark was puzzled about their familiarity until Lana explained, "Oliver and I met at the Black Thursday charity ball and then again at Le…at _Oliver's _boarding school reunion a couple of months ago."

Lionel stepped up to Lana next and said, "I'm pleased to see you _here, _Miss Lang."

"I'm pleased to be here, Mr. Luthor. I finally know where I belong."

Lois had a disbelieving look on her face as she headed to the dinner table on Oliver's arm. Clark followed suit and offered his arm to Lana. Lionel would have escorted Martha, except she was busy taking a tray of piping hot rolls out of the oven, putting them in a basket, and setting the basket on the table.

The dinner was excellent, which was taken as a matter of course by the assembled guests; after all, it was a Martha Kent dinner. Not only was the food great, but the conversation was lively and everyone made a special effort to make Lana feel welcome. Surprisingly enough, to Clark's way of thinking, it was Lois that led the way in this regard. Once she regained her mental balance, she and Lana were speculating about Chloe and Jimmy's relationship, among other things, and just chatting like old girlfriends in general.

All during dinner, Lana was forcibly struck by the differences between the last two holidays she had celebrated. Thanksgiving dinner with Lex had been cold and impersonal. She couldn't have touched Lex if she wanted to. But here, Christmas dinner was warm and inviting. Everyone was crowded around the table, enjoying the food and the company. Dinner with Lex had been a mostly silent affair. Dinner here was very nearly boisterous. One was emblematic of a life she had been afraid of leading, the other was the life she wanted to have and now would have, thanks to Clark.

When it came time for dessert, Lana waved it off, having eaten much more than she was used to, but Clark made up for that by eating two pieces of pie. After dessert was finished, everyone retired to the living room with cups of freshly brewed coffee except for Clark and Lana, who had strong-armed Martha into allowing them to clear the table.

Once they were alone, Lana kissed Clark on the cheek and said, "Thank you, Clark."

"What for?"

"For a holiday celebrated the way it should be. For finally allowing me into your life."

"No, Lana. Thank _you_ for holding on to me with your heart long after I should have used up all of my chances with you."

Once the dishes were rinsed and sitting in the dishwasher and the pots and pans were soaking in the sink, Clark and Lana huddled for a quiet conference before they were swallowed up by the small party in the next room.

"I'm going to go to the Fortress now and find out how this pregnancy is possible," Clark said. "Just stay here and enjoy yourself, I should be back quickly."

"But I want to come along! This is just as much about me, if not more, than it is about you."

"Nope. Nothin' doin'. You've had a stressful day and I want you to take things easy tonight. Remember, you're making decisions for two now."

Lana pursed her lips and then said, "You're not giving me a choice in this…are you?"

"Not now. Not over this. And if I come back and find you've been horsing around, I'll put you straight to bed for the evening."

Lana didn't know how to deal with this new, forceful side of Clark. All she could think to say was, "How? I don't have anything to wear."

"Underwear works for me," Clark said as he winked, "but if you really need something extra, I'm sure I've got an extra flannel shirt or two you could choose from."

Lana reluctantly gave in and handed him her keys. "Could you drive my car over here while you're out? It might make someone worried if they find it abandoned in the middle of Chandler's field."

Clark snagged the keys, kissed her quickly on the lips and eased his way out the door. Lana got herself a cup of coffee, silently promising to limit herself to one, and joined everyone else in the living room. When they asked where Clark was going, she replied, "There's something he needs to take care of. He should be back quickly."

Jor-El's explanation was a model of brevity, so Clark ended up taking more time driving home in Lana's car than he had in the Fortress. When he walked in the door and saw Lana, his smile said all she needed to know at that moment: the baby is ours.

Once the other guests had left, Martha looked at the way Clark and Lana were hanging on to each other and said to Lana, "I take it you won't be returning to the mansion tonight."

"Nope," she said as she snuggled deeper into Clark's arms, "not tonight or ever again. My place is with Clark. It just took us both awhile to see that."

"Well, then," Martha said, "I guess I'd better go change the sheets on Clark's bed so you can sleep there tonight. Clark can have the couch."

Clark reached out and stopped Martha before she could climb the stairs. "Mom, if Lana wants me to, I'll be spending the night with her, in my bed."

"But Clark, the house rules…"

"Need to be changed." Clark was calm, but forceful. "I'm an adult. I don't get into trouble or do drugs, and I run this farm single-handedly. It's time you started treating me like an adult."

"But your father…"

"The choice is yours, Mom. Treat me like an adult or I'll go somewhere else."

"I guess you're right, you are an adult," Martha said, conceding the obvious. "It's just hard to treat my son like a man when I've always seen him as my little boy." Martha gave a look that took in both Lana and Clark. "You two are welcome to share Clark's bedroom if you choose to."

"Thanks, Mom."

Martha continued upstairs to change the bed sheets while Clark and Lana took a seat on the couch.

"So, tell me," Lana said eagerly, "what did Jor-El say?"

"Basically, he said that you went through a dual-stage gestation. Once the egg was fertilized, it fused itself to the uterine wall and went into a kind of stasis. Because the fertilized egg didn't need a supply of your blood, you continued to have your monthly…umm…"

"Periods," Lana said, finishing his sentence for him.

"Yes, exactly." Relieved to have that word behind him, Clark said, "Anyway, the reason for the stasis was that, as a human, you weren't biologically capable of supporting a partially Kryptonian baby. At least, not until you underwent a few small genetic modifications that took roughly a year to complete. Now you are capable of giving birth to a purely human baby or a partially Kryptonian baby. Once your body signaled it was ready, by releasing a brand-new hormone, the egg came out of stasis and attached itself to you normally and that's when you became pregnant. As far as human doctors are concerned anyway."

"Though the flexibility is nice, Clark, I think I'll just have to stick with giving birth to partially Kryptonian children."

"I'd like that," Clark replied. "I'd like that very much."

They leaned in for a casual kiss, and when they ended it, Lana asked, "Clark? Was that a proposal?"

"I don't know. Was what you said before that an acceptance?"

"I don't know."

They stared thoughtfully into each other's eyes, each remembering that they'd already had the romantic proposal and the romantic acceptance. As one, they opened their mouths and said, "Yes, it was."

Clark and Lana launched themselves into another kiss, but this one wasn't casual, it was burning with passion and with need. Their tongues went exploring, first seeming to fight for dominance and then working together to dance the most intricate tango.

They didn't break _this_ kiss until Martha cleared her throat at the base of the stairs and said, "Umm…hello?" When they pulled back from each other, Martha teased them. "Just because I'm letting you two share a bedroom doesn't mean you can do that all over the place."

Clark and Lana looked at each other and Lana asked, "Should we tell her our news?"

"Which one?"

"Both!"

"Yes!"

The End


End file.
